QPM Development
Over the past four years, SG 2000, INIA/Mozambique, the World Bank, and CIMMYT have sponsored the work of Dr Miloje Denic, a QPM breeder, who helped to establish the QPM improvement programme at INIA (Instituto Nacional de Investigaçao Agronomica) and trained staff. Dr Denic’s contributions to QPM promotion have been crucial in Mozambique and other countries in the region. Along with INIA maize breeders, he adapted Obatanpa, a QPM Open Pollinated Variety developed in Ghana, to the regional conditions, which resulted in the release of Sussuma, Mozambique’s own variety. The team also converted several elite normal materials to QPM, and developed high levels of resistance to maize streak virus and downy mildew in various QPM varieties.

QPM Dissemination
The seed chain begins with Breeder Seed (BS). Although quantities required are small, much work is required to maintain maize varieties and lines. This activity is generally handled by National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS).

The commercial/certified seed sector is composed of public and private institutions. The next step is to invest in quality control. The fledgling private sector relies on stakeholders who face the challenge of how to develop the seed market.

The Rockefeller Foundation’s SSA Agricultural effort, led by Dr Joe De Vries, is committed to establishing small-scale seed companies, supporting NARS in the development of OPVs and hybrids, as well as strenghtening the BS (Breeder Seed) and the FS (Foundation Seed) systems, vital to the survival of small companies. The establishment of AAC (African Agriculture Capital), a venture capital fund to support the growth of small seed enterprises, is also a welcome addition to developping and strenghtening the seed sector in sub-Saharian African countries.

QPM information material is continuously distributed at major national and international events.
In Ethiopia, some production activities are an integral part of the QPM nutrition study and in Uganda, QPM Voucher Assisted Demonstration (VAD) kits are supplied to needy farmers. There, a combination of Farmer-Based Organisations (FBO) and One-Stop Centres organises the production, postharvest processing, and the storage and supply of QPM grain to special markets, while exploring the possibility of including feed mills.

Further QPM production is supported among pig farmers encouraged to feed QPM and with FBOs.
A modest number of demonstrations are still supported in Nigeria, which helped the popularisation and the release of Obatanpas in 2005. Similarly, in Malawi, a large demonstration programme was made to continue to popularise the use of QPM and show its competitiveness. Ghana’s targeted production is supported as part of a poultry (laying) feeding project in association with no-tillage. In Mozambique, support was given to seed companies to conduct demonstrations with the QPM Sussuma in order to help their marketing efforts.
A pilot intervention programme began in Mali, where QPM grain is produced by eight FBOs, processed and stored at the village level using a system of inventory credit with the aim of supplying specific markets and providing greater income to farmers. Denbanyuman, the QPM variety released in Mali, was promoted by the SSN seed production and distribution system. Efforts are underway to strenghten their organisation, concerning field inspection and certification.

Strenghtening QPM Quality Controls
«Ensuring that protein quality of QPM is maintained is the only way to guarantee that farmers and consumers are receiving the full nutritional benefit of QPM » says Haag. The protein quality character (opaque-2 gene) is monitored by observing QPM grains using a “light box“ and by conducting laboratory tests to quantify tryptophan and lysine levels in the protein.

SG 2000 has provided light boxes and training in how to use them to scientists in several countries. It has also actively supported the establishment of national tryptophan laboratories in Ghana, Mozambique, and Uganda, and has worked closely with CIMMYT and IITA to establish regional labs in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. In 2004, SG 2000, CIMMYT and IITA sponsored a lab training workshop aimed at teaching the tryptophan analysis method to 14 participants from the region. At the end of the course the participants formed a network of labs to facilitate communications and information exchanges.

QPM : A Boom to Infant Nutrition
Mrs Abenaa Akuamoa-Boateng, Nutrition Officer with the Ghana Health Service, has published several studies demonstrating the benefits of QPM over normal maize in the infant nutrition. The QPM-malt treatment was also significantly superior to the traditionnal preparations, that is why she wants the use of QPM and malt to be promoted simulteanously. Results show that QPM increases infant growth, reduces stunting, improves general health and tends to reduce infant mortality. «This validates the objective, now shared by many, of substituing QPM for normal maize » says Haag.

«Once the QPM varieties have been introduced and popularised, SG 2000 no longer engages in large QPM field demonstration programmes, as many of these activities are incorpored into national production efforts. Small-scale strategic interventions are, however, still supported in most countries » says Dr Haag.